Belt continued to create and sell hand-painted signs, crosses and more from home. Then came a divorce in 2011.

"I needed to support my family," she said. "And I'd always wanted to open a store. This was one way to help me cope."

The result was Silly Silly Girls, a gift boutique off Interstate 10 in the Memorial area. The store opened in May 2012 and grossed about $150,000 its first year. Last year's gross revenues topped $231,000.

Belt spent $70,000 of her own to ready the store for opening.

"It was scary, because when you do something like this, you're really putting yourself out there," she said. "But I wanted to show my girls that they could do anything they wanted to do, even if someone told them it couldn't be done."

No banker's hours for her

Of the items sold at Silly Silly Girls, Belt said, 80 percent are personalized with a monogram or name. In addition to working at the store each weekday and on Saturdays, Belt spends three or four hours a night painting customers' orders.

The store's selection includes more than 1,500 items, ranging from $5 novelty toys to $150 rustic boards that come with seasonal attachments.

"I'm so glad she opened the store, because even though my kids are grown I love to go in there and shop for them," said Lisa Stephens, a decades-long customer of Belt's artwork. "Kids love it because it's fun, but adults can see there's often a deeper, spiritual side to it."

'We're on the right track'

Belt credits social media - especially Facebook and Twitter - with driving 50 percent of her sales. She said she'll often text moms and kids with pictures of new items.

"I've been told that girls like getting packages in the Silly Silly Girls gift wrapping," Belt said. "That tells me we're on the right track."

In addition to personalized items, the store carries products by outside vendors, including Primitives by Kathy and Coton Colors. The rear of the store is devoted to boys' and girls' toys.

"The way I buy things for the store is that if I don't love it, then I'm not going to get it for the store," Belt said. "I only buy things that I love and that I would have in my own home."